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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. track — to keep track
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. track — a song
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. net — after costs
  10. track — a path
  11. land — ground
  12. charge — in control
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. land — to come down
  15. charge — a price
  16. land — a country
  17. net — in sport
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. charge — electricity
  21. net — for catching
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. game — a match
  24. racket — for tennis

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com